“The same person who directed you to us when Hart was cursed? Yes.”
“You trust them?”
“I trust about ten people in the world and none of them hide their identity from me, so no, I don’t trust this person. But I know that, for whatever reason, they have been helpful in our past cases. Do I think they have a hidden agenda? Sure. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think this should be looked into.”
“The tips they sent before,” Saint asked, “were they always this vague?”
“This one is the least vague so far.”
“Lovely. We have zero clue where or how to find this place.”
“But we do know where to find someone who might know,” Teddy said.
“Worthingham.” Saint nodded.
“The playboy, socialite, waste of money and space, Worthingham?” Heir asked.
“Not a kind way to describe him, but yes,” Teddy said, turning to Wren to fill him in. “He’s the son of the owner of a country club that had been half destroyed. She is unwilling to cooperate and never mentioned him being around at the time of the destruction. We found evidence to the contrary and we’d like to question him, ideally without him knowing he’s being questioned.”
“Nepo baby,” Wren said. “Enough said.”
Teddy smiled, wanting to chuckle at his grumbling.
“Undercover work?” Trace asked.
Teddy tore his gaze away from Wren and cleared his throat. “He clubs constantly, and we’ve noticed he’s always surrounded by attractive young men.”
“We also noticed he has a type,” Saint said.
“Yup,” Teddy agreed. “Tall, skinny, dark hair and eyes, femme.”
“Eerie,” Echo said.
Eerie perked up. “Fun.”
“No.” Teddy shook his head. “We need him relaxed and willing to share info, not terrified for his life. And we don’t have the time to coach you to act…you know…”
“Human,” Heir supplied, and Teddy wanted to correct him so badly but he didn’t really know how to put it any differently.
“Fine,” Eerie said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“We will need your help though,” Teddy said. “We’ll need you to make Saint pretty. Well…prettier than he is right now.”
“I’ll step out,” Wren said suddenly. “You work on your plan with your team.”
“You don’t have to—” Teddy started, confused, but Wren was already on his way to the front door. Blu was fluttering next to his head and then Teddy heard the soft but distinct sound of gigantic paws on their wooden floors.
A piercing scream ripped through the air and Echo jumped behind the couch, their arms flapping around in panic as Sable padded into the room, following Wren.
“OH MY GOD I’M GONNA GET RIPPED TO SHREDS!” they screeched, inching along the back of the couch toward Saint. “Where are your tranq darts?!”
Wren froze in place, then turned around as if in slow motion and caught Teddy’s eye. His hand went to Sable’s fur, holding him against his leg protectively.
“If he touches Sable, I’ll kill him,” Wren said, voice low and menacing in complete contrast to that angelic face Teddy had spent hours admiring.
“Them,” Saint said softly.
Wren snapped his head around. “What?” he asked as Echo whimpered, hiding behind Heir.
